Early Presidential Primary Voting Begins

NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. WAMPLER Dennis and Janet Loudon of Fayetteville drop their ballots Tuesday Feb. 16, 2016 at the Washington County Courthouse in Fayetteville. Early voting continues for two weeks until the Arkansas primary on March 1.

The presidential primary race is on in Arkansas March 1, and early voting began Tuesday, Feb. 16.

There’s more opportunities to cast an early vote than previous years with several off site polling locations for voters to cast their ballots being available for the first time.

There are seven polling stations in Washington County and 10 in Benton County.

Polling stations throughout the state are open 8:00 a.m and 6:00 p.m, Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m on Saturday. The final day for early voting is Feb. 29, and primary election day is March 1.

Early voting also brings the benefit of voting on your own schedule and avoiding potentially long lines on voting day.

State primary elections help determine which candidate the Republican and Democratic parties endorse for the general election in November. The Arkansas election is an open primary, so that means registered voters may vote for whichever candidate they choose regardless of which party they’ve voted for.

Other than the presidency, a candidate must receive more than 50 percent of the vote to be nominated, or there will be a runoff election. If there’s a runoff, and you voted either Republican or Democrat in the primary, you are required to vote within the same party in the runoff. You can vote in the runoff if you skip the primary.

In order to vote, be sure to bring a valid, government issued photo ID. That could be your driver’s license, military ID, U.S. passport or a state issued concealed carry license.

ON THE BALLOT

While the main attraction is the presidential primary, Arkansans are being asked to vote for party nominees for Congress, statewide offices, and county judges.

In Washington County, there’s a couple positions up for election.

Fayetteville Alderman Mark Kinion (D) will face off against Josh Mahoney (D) for Washington County Judge. The winner in the primary will face state Rep. Micah S. Neal, R-Springdale, in the general election. Neal isn’t running for re-election to the state House.

The Washington County Collector is up for contest between two Republicans, Teresa Soares and Angela Wood. No Democrat filed for the position, so whoever wins will likely win the position. The position manages tax collections for the county.

Justice of the Peace positions are up for election in districts 9 — Eva Madison (D) and Marilyn Edwards (D) and 13 — Joel Maxwell (R) and Lauri Roy-Smith (R). The position passing the budget, creating new ordinances (at the misdemeanor level), setting property tax millage levels, and working with other elected officials.

There are also several Constables — rural sheriffs essentially — up for election in Districts 1 and 3.

Graham Nations and Casey Copeland are running for Washington County District Court Division 2.

Then of course, there’s the presidential primary. On the Democratic Party, voters will choose between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders. The Republican side isn’t so simple, with options to vote for Sen. Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Sen. Marco Rubio, former governor of Florida Jeb Bush or neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

You’ve got until March 1, people. Take the opportunity to exercise your rights and partake in democracy.